7/12/2023–|Last updated: 12/7/202306:33 PM (Mecca time)
Speakers at the European Summit on Palestine, Thursday, called for an end to the Israeli massacres that have been ongoing in the Gaza Strip for more than 60 days, and to declare a permanent ceasefire, stressing the need to recognize an independent Palestinian state.
These calls came in speeches during the summit, which began Thursday in Istanbul, with the participation of representatives from nearly 50 countries, and organized by the European Islamic Forum, the Judiciary in Palestine, and the Turkish “New Welfare” Party.
The conference bears the slogan “3 religions, two states, one solution,” and the participants, who are from various continents of the world, especially Europe, range from opinion and thought leaders, academics, politicians, universities, and representatives of the religions of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.
“A terrifying tragedy”
In his speech, the founder and president of the European Islamic Forum, Abdul Wahid Niyazov, said, “For two months, we have been witnessing this terrifying tragedy in Gaza. The Zionists have shown their ugly face, and these massacres will change the world and launch the beginning of a new era in humanity and mankind.”
In response to daily Israeli attacks against the Palestinian people and their sanctities, the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), launched the Al-Aqsa Flood Battle on October 7, which targeted settlements and military bases in the Gaza Strip, killing about 1,200 Israelis, wounding about 5,431, and capturing 239. It exchanged dozens of them, during a humanitarian truce that lasted 7 days until December 1, with Israel, which holds 7,800 Palestinians in its prisons.
Since that day, the Israeli occupation army has been waging a war on Gaza that has left 17,177 martyrs and more than 46,000 injured, in addition to massive destruction of infrastructure and an “unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe,” according to official Palestinian and UN sources.
Niyazov added, “The Zionists were exploiting the story of the Holocaust, but they killed thousands of children in Gaza, and a call must be made to take concrete steps. All people went out to the squares and squares and denounced the massacres.”
He continued, “Defending the Israeli genocide is a crime. In this way, Europe and the West are sliding towards fascism, and all people of conscience must take serious and concrete stances.”
Niyazov Qaei added, “I invite American businessman Elon Musk to visit Gaza, just as he visited Israel a few days ago, to see what Israel is doing to the people of Gaza.”
In Gaza, about 2.2 million Palestinians live and suffer from catastrophic conditions even before the war. As a result of the ongoing Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip since Hamas won the legislative elections in 2006.
A human tragedy
In turn, former leader of the Labor Party in Britain, Jeremy Corbyn, said during the conference, “It is necessary to contribute to a ceasefire. It is true that killing civilians in Israel is wrong, but the Israeli response was devastating and killed many people.”
He added that this response affected two million people living in Gaza, as the entire population in the north was forced to go to the south, and they were gathered at the Rafah crossing and besieged there, and they cannot go to neighboring Egypt, which is not prepared for a new wave of displacement.
Corbyn continued, “This is a human tragedy. The people of Gaza do not have water, food, or medicine. This is a disaster of the first degree, and it is necessary to call for a ceasefire, and the Security Council must work on that.”
He added that the world turned a blind eye to what the Palestinians were going through and continued to fund and defend Israel and provide it with all aid. I am not proud of the position of the British Parliament, as a small number of its members asked for a ceasefire and the majority refused.
Corbyn spoke about the demonstrations denouncing the Israeli war, even within the United States, Tel Aviv’s main ally, and stressed the importance of raising awareness to put pressure on governments, and then the export of weapons to Israel will be stopped, and Palestine can be supported by sending aid.
He denounced how long the tragedy and displacement of Palestinians will continue?! Adding that Israel wants to occupy all of the Palestinian territories, and it is necessary to accelerate recognition of the Palestinian state and end the occupation of Gaza and the Palestinian territories.
Corbyn concluded his speech by emphasizing that the current period is the most unjust in history, with silence regarding the attacks despite watching them on the media.
Continuing Nakba
As for David Wise, the rabbi of the anti-Zionist organization Nateri Karta International, he said, “I thank Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Turkish people for allowing us to come here and participate in the valuable summit, and I also thank the European Islamic Forum for the program for the conference.”
He pointed out that Zionism began about 100 years ago, while the Jewish religion dates back thousands of years. According to our beliefs, we do not have the right to dominate any particular land, and the Palestinian Nakba series has continued to this day since 1948.
Wise continued, “We must raise our voice for justice and peace. The Jewish community constantly prays to God for the Palestinian people, the end of the occupation, and the establishment of peace.”
A message of love and peace
In turn, Father Elias Awad from Ramallah said, “As you see on television how children and women are slaughtered… Palestine is a symbol of peace, and the Palestine delegation consists of a judge, a Christian cleric, and a Muslim cleric… This is a message of love and peace. We have been living in Palestine in love and peace since The age covenant.
He added, “After the Nakba and the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 on occupied Palestinian lands, Palestine changed. It was wounded, occupied, and its people were displaced and expelled from their homes. A black page was opened in Palestine, and the Nakba is being repeated today in the Gaza Strip. Do the Palestinian people deserve this killing and displacement?!.. of course not”.
Awad concluded his speech by calling for “pressure on the occupation and to stop the war and destruction,” stressing that peace only comes with a Palestinian state, with Holy Jerusalem as its capital.
In opening speeches at the conference, the leader of the ruling Turkish Justice and Development Party, Mehmet Emin Akbaşoğlu, the head of the new Welfare Party, Fatih Erbakan, and the head of the Islamic Action Front in Lebanon, Sheikh Zuhair Al-Jaeed, spoke.
The conference was held for one day, and began with a video showing the situation in Gaza, followed by a recitation of verses from the Holy Qur’an.
